Amateur baseball: Rockies gear up for the playoffs

The Rockies are trying to return the state tournament for the first time since 2008. They've been painfully close to state berths eight times in the past 10 years, needing one win to get in.

The St. Augusta Gussies' Brady Grafft (22) beats out the throw to second, upending the Cold Spring Rockies' Mike Holbrook (4) to get a double in the fifth inning Sunday in St. Augusta.(Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)

Neither is Cold Spring, obviously. The Rockies are coming off one of their better regular seasons in several years. They have a good mix of veterans and younger players and while their pitching isn't dominating, it's certainly consistent.

Blaine Athmann got the win Sunday. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed one run over six innings, striking out two and walking one. Ficker calls him the Rockies' ace.

"It's good to see a lot of guys going off like that (offensively) right before playoffs," Athmann said. "Hopefully, it carries on."

The Rockies are trying to return the state tournament for the first time since 2008. They've been painfully close to state berths eight times in the past 10 years, needing one win to get in.

This year's Region 11C tournament is in Watkins. It's eight teams, with at least four teams from the Central Valley League and at least two teams from the Corn Belt League. There are play-in games for the seventh and eighth teams, meaning six CVL teams could get in (or four CBL squads, for that matter).

But first, there is the league playoffs. The Rockies think they're ready. They have a steady pitching staff led by Athmann and veterans John Rossman, Josh Porwoll, Rick Burtzel and Chris Lardy.

All are consistent strike-throwers. No one's throwing 90 miles per hour. That's the rub, Ficker said. "Not that I wouldn't mind having a couple of guys who throw 90," Ficker said. The Rockies don't dominate on the mound, relying on timely hitting and usually excellent defense.

"That's off the record," Rockies player Marty Bell deadpanned.

Don't print anything about the defense, they say. The last time it was highlighted, they made errors in bushels, much like they accumulated hits Sunday.

Ten players had hits. Right fielder Kevin Wenner and catcher David Jonas had four apiece. Veteran Jeff Lindbloom, age 38, even came off the bench to get three hits.